Banter
by MarijaV
Summary: Just a quiet day in the LA Institute with our favorite heroes. Well, almost a quiet day because there is always one Herondale and a Lightwood who make it a loud day. No Lord of Shadows spoilers. Feat. some TID characters.


It was all quiet at the LA Institute even though it was quite crowded. Many people of different ages were scattered around and inside of it. Outside, at one table, Mark and Kieran were talking about their various adventures across the world and Cristina Rosales was soaking it all in. In one office, Diana and Gwyn were discussing Shadowhunters' and faerie's prejudice against mundane medicine. They believed that some medicine needed to be included in their daily lives in order to increase the quality of living of everyone. Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn, was sleeping on the floor of a brightly colored room, two children quietly playing next to him, one of them being his own son Rafael, the other one was the youngest Blackthorn child Tavvy. They were building a castle out of Lego blocks. The kitchen was occupied by four people, Alec Lightwood who was holding a blue baby in his arms, Emma Carstairs who was cooing over said baby and Tessa Gray who was waiting for some cookies to be cooked.

However, most people were gathered in the library where most of the seating could be found and therefore everyone was there. At one table, Jace Herondale was sitting, pouring over one map he found in the library. Next to him, in an armchair, Jem Carstairs was studying a collection of family trees and when he saw one in particular, he frowned and thought _This is wrong. How did this get published?_

On a sofa not far away from them, Kit, Livvy and Ty were huddled together and going through some old Shadowhunter family photos, giggling quietly. Dru was on the floor next to them, sorting the same photos based on the date on the back of them. Julian was at another table ordering new weapons for the Institute. It was all very peaceful and serene. Suddenly, Ty looked up from the photo he was holding.

"Jace, Uncle Jem, what is like having a parabatai? We have Emma and Julian here but I doubt that every parabatai pair is the same or behave and act the same way."

 _Trust me, they don't_ , thought Julian grimly, _and they certainly don't end up having sex on the beach behind their house._ But he didn't say anything out loud.

In that moment, Alec Lightwood, who heard the question, walked in with Max on his arm and took a seat at the largest table in the middle of the room. Alec noticed that Jem was deep in thought and that Jace wasn't even paying attention so he turned towards Ty and answered

"To me, it seems that there is always one parabatai who is reasonable and collected," at that he pointed at himself and mouthed "ME, "and the other one is impulsive and rash." At that, he pointed at Jace with his thumb and mouthed "JACE."

"Alec, are you bashing me behind me back?" Jace asked without turning around.

"No. Never. I would never do that." Alec answered and the children on the sofa giggled.

"Uncle Jem, you had a parabatai once too. What was he like? He was a Herondale just like Jace, wasn't he?" Livvy asked.

"Yes, and he was as impulsive and rash as Alec describes them to be." Jem smiled fondly remembering that one time Will spontaneously wanted to murder all the ducks of the Herondale manor. Luckily, Tessa kept him from doing just that. He then saw that the trio wanted to hear more about and even Alec and Jace seemed interested too. And since talking about Will didn't bring him pain anymore, he proceeded:

"Well, Will looked more like Alec than Jace. He was very dramatic and used sarcasm in the most inappropriate situations, which only made these situations worse or funny depending on how the dire situation is."

"Just like Jace," Alec nodded vigorously. At that, Jace turned around and asked.

"Is it already Diss-the-Herondale day again?"

"No, that's next Friday." Alec answered seriously and Jem smiled. They reminded him of him and Will so much. Some things never change and one of these things seems to be the parabatai sense of humor.

"So... this William, was he a good guy?" Kit asked, who heard that parabatai sometimes fell apart because one of them was evil. "I mean, he didn't start any wars or something like that?"

"No, he didn't," answered Jem. "Well, only if you consider ducks worthy enemies against whom you should start wars. Then yes, he almost started one."

"Wow, Jace is afraid of ducks too. Strange. I didn't know phobias were hereditary." Alec seemed genuinely confused at that.

"I'm not afraid them, Alec," Jace defended himself, "it's just that they piss me off for no reason."

In that moment, Tessa and Emma came in, both carrying a tray with cookies. After putting those trays on the table, Tessa asked: "What did we interrupt?"

"Oh, only the sheer and utter betrayal of my most beloved parabatai, Alec," said Jace while getting up from the table to grab a cookie, "Only this cookie will mend my heart."

Alec rolled his eyes. Jem laughed.

"Also," said Jem turning towards Tessa, "did you know what Jace is afraid of ducks? How weird is that?"

"Even in death Will manages to leave his mark but does he have to do it in such a weird way?" Tessa asked smiling fondly.

"I'm pretty sure my grand-grand-whatever dad was a great guy but you Alec...," continued Jace falling dramatically into his chair, "you wound me, brother."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I don't wound you as much as you wound me whenever you charge recklessly into battle and I have to save your life. Again."

"Wow," said Jace wiping away a fake tear away with a flourish, "it's like Diss-the-Herondale came early." In that moment, Clary came in wiping her hands on her trousers. Alec turned to Clary:

"Clary, Jace is being insufferable, tell him to stop."

"Me? He's your brother and your parabatai. You tell him to stop."

"Guys, I'm still here, sitting alone and abandoned, bleeding my heart out on this table."

Clary took a seat next to Jace, who now sat at the same table where Alec was at and patted his shoulder comfortingly. On the other side of him was Tessa. Emma was sitting at the same table where Julian sat. Dru, who finished sorting all the photos came over and sat next to Tessa.

"Will," continued Tessa fondly, her chin on her arm, "was a great person. Herondales tend to blame themselves for everything and so did Will but he loved his family with all his heart. And even though you cannot ascribe certain characteristics to an entire family line, I believe there is something initially good about Herondales. Now, that doesn't mean you should go about trusting every Herondale that you meet for the first time."

"Yes," said Kit from his place on the couch, "for one I tried to rob you."

"As if you would have gotten far in the first place," Ty told him.

"I'd like to believe I would have." Huffed Kit.

Everyone smiled at that. Alec turned to Jace, Max having fallen asleep in his arms:

"I was just kidding Jace. You are great a brother. I don't want to be parabatai with anyone but you." Alec turned to Jace and smiled broadly.

"By the Angel, I bet the Herondale's love for Lightwoods runs through the family." Said Jace and high-fived Alec.

At that, both Jem and Tessa looked at each other. _Should we tell them?_ Jem's eyes seemed to ask. Tessa's seemed to answer _No._ Instead, she said.

"God rest Will's soul but I think, wherever he is, he is having an argument with Gabriel right now."

"Who is Gabriel?" Julian, who was drawing circles on Emma's hand, asked.

"Ah, just a good friend of Will's," Jem said hastily.

Unbeknownst to them, in a place that couldn't be comprehended by any mind unless you were dead, Will Herondale and Gabriel Lightwood were indeed having an argument.

"What do you mean _your_ descendants are better than _mine_!?" Asked Will outrageously.

"Here they go again." Muttered Cecily darkly.

"They are. Look at them. One has a steady boyfriend and two children. Is a hero of the war. Defends Downworlder's rights. And Isabelle is just as amazing."

"Jace is the MAIN CHARACTER to Alec's SIDE-CHARACTER status."

"His what now?! _My_ descendant adopted _your_ descendant. If it weren't for him, your Jace would be dead somewhere in a ditch."

"Jace is the hero of his story, Gabby!"

"Jace would be a dead hero if it weren't for Alec, Willy!"

"Whatever. There is Kit too. He is going to be amazing."

"HE is not even a direct descendant of yours, dumbass."

"He is a Herondale, I am a Herondale. It counts."

"Fine by me. Then I'll count Gideon's descendants as mine too."

"You can't do that. It's not fair."

"You just did the same thing. Two seconds ago!?"

The worst thing about being dead, Cecily thought, is that you can't die again.


End file.
